Unsociable Work? Nonstandard Work Schedules, Family Relationships, and Children’s Well‐Being

Strazdins, Lyndall; Clements, Mark; Korda, Rosemary; Broom, Dorothy; D’Souza, Rennie M.

doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2006.00260.x

Cited by 293 publications

(242 citation statements)

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“…Since the association between paternal and combined parental nonstandard paid work schedules and child overweight/obesity does not appear to be accounted for by socioeconomic status, our results point to a need for upstream economic and labour market policy reform rather than targeted interventions for 'at-risk' families. While nonstandard paid work schedules have been promoted (by some) as beneficial for families in meeting work/ family needs, 20,40,41 there is a gendered impact of these arrangements, 33 that is most detrimental to working mothers' time for family and themselves. We would also argue that many couples would not choose for both parents to work nonstandard schedules; it is likely that a lack of equivalent-income jobs with standard schedules is a problem.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…19,20 However, there has been limited examination of the impact of work hours scheduled at nonstandard times on child weight within the collective family unit. The findings of the two previous studies examining mothers' work schedules and child body mass index (BMI) are incongruent, with nonstandard work schedules being associated with overweight/ obesity among adolescents, 21 but not in children aged 8 --12 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parental work schedules and child overweight and obesity

et al. 2011

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OBJECTIVE: Studies in school-age children have consistently shown a positive association between maternal paid work hours and child obesity. However, there is conflicting evidence about the impact of maternal work hours scheduled at nonstandard times (for example, evenings, nights or weekends), and no previous examination of paternal work schedules and child weight. We examined the associations between maternal, paternal and combined parental paid work schedules and overweight/obesity in children at age 9 years. METHODS: Data were analysed from the most recent follow-up of 9-year-old children (n ¼ 434) in an Australian birth cohort study. Children were measured and classified as overweight/obese using the International Obesity Taskforce body mass index cutoff points. Current working conditions of parents were obtained from a structured interview with the primary caregiver. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the effect of parental work schedules on child overweight/obesity with adjustment for a range of sociodemographic and household factors associated with parental employment and child weight. RESULTS: At 9 years of age, 99 children (22.8%) were overweight or obese. When parental work schedules were examined separately, child overweight/obesity was significantly associated with paternal nonstandard work schedules (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08 --3.61). There was no association with any type of maternal work schedule. We also found an association between child overweight/obesity and circumstances in which both parents worked nonstandard schedules; however, this was of borderline statistical significance in the adjusted models (adjusted OR 2.26, 95% CI 0.99 --5.16). CONCLUSION: Work hours scheduled at nonstandard times, when worked by the father or both parents, were associated with child overweight and obesity. These findings indicate the potential importance of fathers' paid work arrangements for child overweight/obesity, which until recently has largely been ignored.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental work schedules and child overweight and obesity

et al. 2011

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“…NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript mothers' shift schedules and children's cognitive or behavioral outcomes (Bogen & Joshi, 2002;Dosa et al, 2002;Han, 2005;Heymann, 2000;Strazdins et al, 2006;Strazdins et al, 2004), whereas two found no significant effects (Dunifon, Kalil, & Bajrachaya, 2005; Ross Phillips, 2002). Two of these studies (Bogen & Joshi, 2002;Han, 2005) were limited to preschool age children, one (Heymann, 2000) was primarily qualitative, three (Bogen & Joshi, 2002;Dunifon et al, 2005; Ross Phillips, 2002) focused primarily on low-income families, two were based on samples from Canada (Strazdins et al, 2004;Strazdins et al, 2006), and the rest focused on the US.…”

Section: Nih-pa Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two of these studies (Bogen & Joshi, 2002;Han, 2005) were limited to preschool age children, one (Heymann, 2000) was primarily qualitative, three (Bogen & Joshi, 2002;Dunifon et al, 2005; Ross Phillips, 2002) focused primarily on low-income families, two were based on samples from Canada (Strazdins et al, 2004;Strazdins et al, 2006), and the rest focused on the US. Among studies specifically looking at children's behavioral outcomes, Stradzins and her colleagues (2006, 2004), using a sample from Canada, found a strong negative association between parents working non-day shifts and children's socioemotional well-being (e.g., property offenses for 4-to 11-year-olds and physical and conduct aggression for 2-or 3-year-olds).…”

Section: Nih-pa Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shift work and child behavioral outcomes

Han

2008

Work, Employment and Society

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Using a large, contemporary U.S. dataset, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child Supplement, this paper explores the relationship between maternal shift work and the behavioral outcomes of children aged 4 to 10. Special attention was given to subgroups of children (e.g., based on family type, family income, and mother's occupation and working hours) and the patterns of parental work schedules and work hours. Regression results suggest that maternal shift work may contribute to more behavioral problems. Of all children whose mothers worked non-day shifts, the strongest associations were found for children who lived in single-mother or lowincome families, whose mothers worked in cashier or service occupations, and whose mothers worked non-day shifts full-time. Implications for future research are discussed. Keywords behavior problems shift workTo provide the conveniences of a growing 24-7 economy, employees often find themselves working at hours that are not between 6 A.M. and 6 P.M. The United States Census reports that about 15% of the labor force (approximately 15 million people) work evenings (between 2 P.M. and midnight), nights (between 9 P.M. to 8 A.M.), rotating shifts (schedules change periodically from days to evenings), or irregular schedules or hours (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005). In the European Union, the percentages of all those employed who work at these hours range from a low of 10% in France to a high of 20% in Greece, with Denmark, Finland, and the United Kingdom all close to 20% (as cited in Presser, 2003). Presser's (2003) research on work-family issues has consistently revealed that individuals who are African American, less educated, or low skilled are more likely than others to work non-day shift schedules. Moreover, single mothers and parents in families with young children under age 6 are also more likely to have shift schedules (Presser, 2003).Numerous empirical studies on work and occupations have shown the negative effects of shift work on adults' psychological, physical, and sociological well-being (Costa, 2003;Gold et al., 1992;Gordon et al., 1986;Presser, 2000). These findings raise concerns about the impacts that parental shift work can have on children's well-being (La Valle et al., 2002). In their research into this issue, sociologists and psychologists have begun to expand the classical definition of job quality (e.g., wages, benefits, on-the-job stress, etc.) to include aspects of the job, such as the type of work schedule, that have effects on home life. For instance, Presser (2003) broke new ground by looking at the impact of shift work on employees' health and family relationships. More recently, a handful of studies (e.g., Han, 2005; Starazdins et al., 2006) have extended that line of research to consider how the quality of employment affects other family members, particularly children. This study adds to that growing literature, which is of increasing policy relevance as greater numbers of lowincome mothers are moving into poor-quality jobs that ...

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“…On the one hand, non-standard schedules have been shown to reduce family time among parents and to hinder work and family arrangements, and thus to increase the level of stress reported by working parents in the United States (Davis et al 2008) and Canada (Strazdins et al 2006;Zuzanek 2000). Bulanda and Lippmann (2009) reviewed the existing literature on parents" time with children in the United States and concluded that mothers who work evening and nights, or at irregular intervals, have little or no access to quality childcare services.…”

Section: Non-standard Schedules and Stress: Schedule Control And Flexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-standard work schedules, gender, and parental stress

Lozano¹,

Hamplová²,

Bourdais³

2016

DemRes

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BACKGROUNDWorking non-standard hours changes the temporal structure of family life, constraining the time that family members spend with one another and threatening individuals" wellbeing. However, the empirical research on the link between stress and non-standard schedules has provided mixed results. Some studies have indicated that working nonstandard hours is harmful whereas others have suggested that working atypical hours might facilitate the balance between family and work. Moreover, there is some evidence that the association between stress and non-standard employment has different implications for men and women. OBJECTIVEThis paper examines the association between non-standard work schedules and stress among dual-earner couples with children. Two research questions are addressed. First, do predictability of the schedule and time flexibility moderate the link between nonstandard work hours and stress? Second, do non-standard schedules affect men"s and women"s perceptions of stress differently? METHODSWe use a sample of 1,932 working parents from the Canadian 2010 General Social Survey, which includes a time-use diary. A sequential logit regression analysis stratified by gender is employed to model two types of result. First, we estimate the odds of being stressed versus not being stressed. Second, for all respondents feeling stressed, we estimate the odds of experiencing high levels versus moderate levels of stress. RESULTSOur analysis shows that the link between non-standard working hours and perceived stress differs between mothers and fathers. First, fathers with non-standard schedules appear more likely to experience stress than those working standard hours, although the results are not significant. Among mothers, having a non-standard schedule is associated with a significantly lower risk of experiencing stress. Second, the analysis focusing on the mediating role of flexibility and predictability indicates that predictability is more important than flexibility. Workers with non-standard predictable schedules exhibit a lower risk of being stressed than those with non-standard unpredictable hours. Work flexibility does not seem to bring any additional advantage to women. However, it is linked to higher odds of being stressed for fathers, particularly among those having non-standard schedules.

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Unsociable Work? Nonstandard Work Schedules, Family Relationships, and Children’s Well‐Being

Cited by 293 publications

References 53 publications

Parental work schedules and child overweight and obesity

Parental work schedules and child overweight and obesity

Shift work and child behavioral outcomes

Non-standard work schedules, gender, and parental stress

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